


Smiles Like the Sun

by Sunny_Lana



Category: Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (TV), Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Super Mysteries - Franklin W. Dixon & Carolyn Keene
Genre: ATAC: Americans Teens Against Crime, Anyway...art thieves, But also the TV Series from like the ‘70s, F/M, Fluffy Joncy, Frank Is A Cool Bro, Freelance detective, Joe/Nancy is so underrated, Nancy Drew: Girl Detective, Nancy’s Smile is the Sun, The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers, What is the ship name?, Where Are Joe/Nancy Fics?, You Know That One with Shaun Cassidy, cuteness, fluff overload, so cliche, they are cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 12:44:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14497263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunny_Lana/pseuds/Sunny_Lana
Summary: She may not know it, but there are plenty of things he admires - okay, loves - about her. Her smile is just one.Based on the personas of Nancy Drew & the Hardy Boys combined between the original series’, the TV series from the late 1970s, and the newer versions with labels Girl Detective and Undercover Brothers.





	Smiles Like the Sun

**Author's Note:**

> There are never enough sappy and confusing fics in existence - though this one also feels like it has lowkey BDSM vibes. Weird. 
> 
> Also, that great, pocketed “save-the-day device” by ATAC - well actually, its not entirely far-fetched for some Undercover Bros missions, so I’m sticking to my story, no matter how dumb it makes the villain seem. 
> 
> Anyway...enjoy my unbeta’d and rather underproofed and AU tale.

When she smiles, he thinks it’s kind of like the sun. Because she’s usually doing something dark and dangerous before she smiles; before the mystery is solved, there’s confusion and usually chaos. And after, the sunshine comes.

 The chaos follows the Hardy Boys around naturally, but they mostly blame Nancy for it anyway. The trouble she causes is only as much as she stops, of course, the balance of the world restored by one Nancy Drew.

Nancy Drew, who can smile and make a person feel at home. It’s part of her charm, he thinks, absently. It’s entirely natural, because everything Nancy does looks natural, but at the same time, it’s refreshing. He’s somewhat used to the commonplace girls who stare at him because he’s attractive (he’s not denying it, of course) but Nancy has always been different. She’s never once so much as looked at him and labelled him as only his outward appearance.

 The way she speaks is like magic. She never seems insensitive or unconcerned; in truth, he thinks, she just cares about everyone. Why else would she always volunteer to help their cases for ATAC? Her choice is putting others first, and that’s brilliant.

 There’s always room to marvel at her - in between hugs and between being tied up together multiple times, sometimes he can observe her quietly. He stays at a distance though, always at a distance. Because Nancy has never looked at him as anything other than a friend.

 Sometimes the way she looks at Frank hurts, but it’s not all that much different than the way she will look at him sometimes. There’s fondness and appreciation in her gaze, and something deeper, like a soul-driven friendship. And Frank...Frank is just with her more than he is, Joe supposes. That’s all it is.

 

But it’s hard for him to take, especially now that they’re sitting in the dark, tied in chairs which are back to back. This feels familiar, except it’s rather dark for once and Frank isn’t here. That’s certainly something to ponder, but it gives Joe hope of a rescue. 

 “Nancy?” Joe questions, his voice tight. He tries to force out anything but what he feels. “Got any ideas on how to get out of here?”

 Nancy blows out a breath, the backs of her hands shifting against the backs of his. It’s the only place they’re touching, but the motion seems too intimate suddenly. “What about your gadgets? Got anything handy? Maybe a pocket knife, even?” She urges him promptly.

 Of course, of course...she wants to get out, and badly. Being tied to him must be unusual and uncomfortable for her. Joe’s not entirely surprised, but he thinks maybe he can help. “I don’t know if you can reach it, but I think I still have my card in my back pocket.” That invitation should be awkward, but they’ve reached all new territories of the human physique since becoming friends.

 “A card? You think that will be enough?” Nancy doesn’t sound necessarily doubtful, just curious, wondering exactly what this plan is.

 “It’s made out of a thin, flattened sheet of metal contained within normal copy paper...” Joe starts.

 “So if you strip away the paper, you get a nice thin sheet of cutting metal!” Nancy declares, inspired. “Brilliant.”

 Joe shakes his head, amused by her assessment. “It’s not the worst thing ATAC has come up with, that’s for sure.”

 Nancy laughs. “I just like the sentiment of hiding something in plain sight.”

 He smirks to himself, knowing that she’s the kind of person who can metaphorically see a diamond inside a coal mine, not only because of her detective work but because of her compassion. “Then you’ll like this one. I think I can still feel it...”

 Nancy is already moving her hands, twisting just enough, and there’s a slight pressure to the side of his jeans. He flushes, but it’s dark, and he’ll never be spotted. It only last a moment anyway - they’re relatively familiar with this territory through incidents like near falls from cliffs or abrupt vehicular shifts.

 “Okay,” Nancy says with a hum. “You’re going to have to lift yourself off the chair now, just so I have access to your pocket.” The way she says it is so clinical, and Joe can’t help the momentary embarrassment he feels.

 Nonetheless, he pulls himself up so he’s straining against his rope bonds tightly, and Nancy feels her way to his back pocket. Joe focuses on his muscles, forcing them to support him, so that he doesn’t have to be so aware of what she’s doing.

 The girl detective manages to find his pocket, and slides the only finger she can really stretch to the necessary length into the slim slit in the fabric. It’s slightly tickling, but Joe careful resists the temptation to twist and writhe. Nancy’s finger suddenly presses hard into his right buttock through his jeans, and she’s found the metal sheet, because he can feel it too. It blocks the feeling of her finger - good thing or bad? He’s not sure.

 She inches it forward, towards the entrance to his pocket, with just her nail. If he’d been trying to be funny, he probably would have said she could have just used her nails to slash through their ropes - but that almost seems too flippant. Finally, the card catches at the start of his pocket. Joe feels like he’s been straining for a span of ten minutes, even though rationality tells him it’s been much shorter.

 Nancy uses two fingers this time, scissoring the card in between them. Finally, she gets a good grip. “Let’s see if my nails can peel the paper away,”

 It’s thin enough, Joe knows, from an ATAC briefing, but he gingerly returns to his seat. Nancy won’t fumble, at least, he’s confident that she won’t.

 And, of course, she doesn’t. There’s the sound of splitting, like paper tearing from tape, and Joe almost winces. “Well, sounds like the plan worked.”

 “Let’s not celebrate until we’re free,” Nancy reminds, a teasing lilt to her voice. There’s a shift on her side of the equation and then the ragged noise of her sliding the metal against the twisted rope bonds.

 A few moments later, and there’s a snap, the twines breaking from her hands. It takes her only a moment before she’s probably bending forward and removing the restraints on her legs.

 And, as danger always follows Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, their enemy chooses her moment to return to the room - or is it a broom closet?

 The international art thief, unsurprisingly, has good reflexes, and instantly reaches for her back pocket, the place they can only imagine holds a weapon of some kind. 

Joe moves faster than he can ever remember moving. With minimal chair-related weight on his back, he swings towards the thief, at the last minute sweeping away from her. The now empty chair, which has remained tied to his own, connects with the criminal’s midsection.

She’s knocked off balance, slamming backwards into the hallway, the gun she has drawn spiralling forward in an opposite reaction. It gives Nancy enough time to throw the metal slab to Joe and to run towards the gun, which is close enough - but she takes no risks, jumping and forcing her whole person over the weapon. She clenches it in her hands as she stands up.

The art thief runs into the room, almost expectantly, but then backs up, hands in the air, when she sees Nancy with her weapon.

 Nancy holds it with confidence, a fact that doesn’t escape Joe’s notice, even as he finishes tackling his bonds. “Stay right where you are,” the girl detective orders. She steps closer to the thief, but its cautious. 

“Okay, okay,” the other woman says slowly, eyeing Joe and Nancy in turn, her expression hesitant. The next second, she’s making a quick dash for the hallway, back the way she presumably came.

Nancy rolls her eyes. “They never listen, do they?”

Joe shakes his head, grinning, somehow. Then again, he usually finds that as his place in the story. “You must be too intimidating to face down,” he jokes.

Nancy lets herself laugh, and it’s like the sun breaking through the clouds.

 

Together, in sync, they set off on foot after the thief.

They run into her pleading with Frank, who has a whole police force in tow. “I’m glad I got to you both in time,” Frank rejoices in his own passive way, as soon as they have turned over the criminal to the police and made the proper reports.

“We actually had it pretty well handled,” Nancy returns, sassing him effortlessly, brushing her strawberry blonde hair from her shoulder. “Joe and I make a good team.”

Joe nearly snorts, but then he realizes what she said and something inside his heart squeezes. His eyes find his brother. “It’s true. Although Nance did most of the work,” he adds, dubbing her with her official nickname.

Nancy smirks. “I definitely was not the one who slammed a chair into her stomach.”

“You make me sound vicious,” Joe retorts, an unexpected smile crossing his lips. “We both know you were the one wielding the deadly weapon.”

Frank watches them go back and forth, his eyes smiling. “Okay, okay, you two. Both of you outdid me, anyway.”

“You got here when you could, bro,” Joe answers, feeling rather light-hearted. “We always appreciate a bit of good timing.” He puts a hand on Frank’s shoulder. “I think we should actually sit down for a few minutes at the hotel - this time preferably not tied to the chair,” Joe adds teasingly, eyes lighting up as he looks at Nancy.

“If you ever want to be tied up with someone again, I volunteer,” Nancy banters right back. The words aren’t necessarily deep or meaningful, but it’s the way Nancy smiles when she speaks. “Thanks, Joe. For everything - you did great.”

And right there, in front of Frank, she hugs him, sliding her hands around his shoulders and really acknowledging him. 

It may not seem that important, but it is to Joe. Nancy’s not like other girls, and to him a simple hug means the world. Almost as much as the smile that’s so bright like the sun, the one that she showers him with as she wraps an arm around his shoulder and starts walking back to the hotel. It’s almost enough to make him forget to move his own arm, still around Frank’s shoulder, forward. But when he finally remembers, it’s Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys walking off into the sunset, once again.


End file.
